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Alameda Old House History

  • Old School

    We received word last week from Portland Public Schools that they’re sharing an inventory of their many historic properties, including our favorite Alameda Elementary School, and nearby Beaumont Middle School. You can find these reports and many others at this link, which is interestingly housed within the Office of School Modernization. Looks like [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:33pm EST
    by Doug

  • Portland’s Phone Network, Circa 1911

    Number of comments: 2
    In the midst of the communication technology that has come to define our busy lives—mobile everything and 24/7 communication—we thought a little historical context might be of interest. During a recent session with The Oregonian microfilm, we came across this little nugget from January 11, 1911. From The Oregonian, January 11, [...]
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    Posted: November 14, 2009, 8:43am EST
    by Doug

  • Harry Phillips: Putting a face with a name

    Harry Phillips, Alameda Builder, 1886-1935. We’ve often walked the Alameda Ridge above and below Ridgewood and admired the work of Harry Phillips, a prolific builder and designer who shaped the western edge of the Alameda Park neighborhood. It’s been a pleasure to be able to visit with and interview his two [...]
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    Posted: November 08, 2009, 8:55pm EST
    by Doug

  • Welcome Hollywood Star Readers

    Number of comments: 5
    We read the very nice story by Janet Goetze in the November issue of the Hollywood Star News, which arrived in our mailbox today. She wrote about our passion for seeking out the history of the neighborhood, and highlighted some of the stories you’ll find here. Thank you, Janet. (She didn’t [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:58pm EST
    by Doug

  • Gems from the Treasure Trove

    It’s been quiet on the Alameda old house history blog for the last month or so, but time to get back into the swing of things as the kids return to school, and as the weather transitions to more research-friendly conditions like cloudy, cool and wet. Actually, I think this [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 10:36pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Save the Date: September 26th Alameda History Presentation

    Number of comments: 1
    Interested in learning more about Alameda? I’m doing an education program for the Architectural Heritage Center, which has been rescheduled to Saturday, January 23rd from 10:00-11:30 in the Center’s auditorium on Southeast Grand Ave. It will be a good opportunity to have a closer look at the evolution of Alameda, and specifically at [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 6:36am EDT
    by Doug

  • Tudor Cottage Design Featured in The Oregonian

    Number of comments: 3
    Seeing as how the English Tudor Cottage stories and photos are among the most often viewed files here on the blog, I thought I would share an article and drawings that ran in The Oregonian homes section on December 20, 1925 (click on the image to enlarge). Interesting to note [...]
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    Posted: July 11, 2009, 11:05am EDT
    by Doug

  • Finding Albina

    I’ve just finished a research project on a century-old house in the Boise neighborhood, an area known in earlier years as Albina. The house, on North Borthwick, was a rental for many years that held at least 17 different families and dozens of occupants of all ages. The research task [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 6:25pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Style Points | The Mediterranean

    There aren’t many of these in the neighborhood, so they tend to stand out proud and clear: the Mediterranean, with its distinctive tile roof and stucco exterior, is a time traveler from a very specific period in Portland’s residential architecture history. First beginning to appear with the housing boom of 19-teens [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2009, 10:15pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Alameda Tuesday Club—A Neighborhood Institution Since 1913

    Number of comments: 1
    Local service and social club has been doing good works quietly for almost 100 years When you think about Alameda neighborhood institutions and landmarks, a few standouts come to mind: the school, the churches, the ridge, Deadman’s Hill, our particular grid of streets, the big ponderosa pine at Fremont and 29th. We [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2009, 10:40pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Haunted by Harry Phillips’ Story

    I’ve just posted the next builder biography, this one about Harry Phillips, who built many of the homes on NE Gile Terrace and Ridgewood in the 1920s. Phillips’ story is fascinating, tragic and indicative of his times. His work, appreciated and admired today, has clearly stood the test of time. I’ve often [...]
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    Posted: June 07, 2009, 9:07pm EDT
    by Doug

  • The Geography of Imagination

    Number of comments: 7
    Exploring Neighborhood History With Henry, Ramona and Beezus We’ve been re-reading some favorite books recently, and as it turns out, finding quite a few clues to the world of neighborhood history. Award winning children’s writer Beverly Cleary grew up in the neighborhood and if you read carefully, you’ll find real echoes of our [...]
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    Posted: May 31, 2009, 12:06am EDT
    by Doug

  • Don & Peggy Sarason Re-Craft the “Library”

    Number of comments: 3
    Since last fall, Alameda neighbors have watched with interest as the brick house at NE Dunckley and Regents has had a major overhaul. I had been particularly interested in the house after hearing (and debunking) an urban myth that it was built as a library, which I wrote about here [...]
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    Posted: May 08, 2009, 11:09pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Hello There Oregonian Readers!

    Number of comments: 1
    That was a very nice piece in The O today about accessing the past online. I’m honored to be included with some very capable and cool history sites. I invite you to have a good look around…there’s lots here about the Alameda neighborhood and the fruits of old house research in [...]
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    Posted: May 02, 2009, 3:31pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Neighborhood Boundary vs. Subdivision Plat

    A reader has asked about how the name of a neighborhood relates to the name of an addition, plat or subdivision. The short answer is that there isn’t necessarily a relationship at all. Neighborhood names are administratively determined by the Portland Bureau of Planning in collaboration with the Office of Neighborhood Involvement: [...]
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    Posted: April 26, 2009, 6:33pm EDT
    by Doug

  • A Legacy Written in Stone (ok, concrete)

    Number of comments: 6
    Who hasn’t come across the time stamp of history on neighborhood sidewalks? If you’re paying attention, even on a simple stroll around the block, you’ll find yourself on the trail of the past. On most blocks–typically near the corners–you’ll find the name of the contractor who installed the sidewalks and curbs, [...]
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    Posted: April 04, 2009, 10:21pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Alameda Theater Memories

    Number of comments: 3
    A few months back, we came upon a photograph, taken on May 6, 1926, showing the nearly completed Alameda Theater, located at NE 30th and Alberta. Have a good look at it and soak up the details, and then look at an image from today.    Remarkably, most of the original exterior [...]
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    Posted: March 28, 2009, 5:13pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Old House History in The News

    Number of comments: 1
    We see this morning that a recent interview with The Oregonian has turned into a very nice story, which ran in the Thursday, March 26th edition of the paper. Feature writer Larry Bingham wrote the piece out of an interest in old house history, and in keeping with the paper’s focus [...]
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    Posted: March 26, 2009, 7:38am EDT
    by Doug

  • Ken Birkemeier, Prolific Alameda Builder

    Number of comments: 2
    After a very interesting few weeks of research, correspondence with the Birkemeier family, and lots of walking around the neighborhood looking at dozens of houses he built, I’ve posted some background on local architect and builder Kenneth L. Birkemeier. You’ll find the details (and some more photos) over in the [...]
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    Posted: March 14, 2009, 1:42pm EDT
    by Doug

  • New Section on The Builders

    Number of comments: 1
    Today I’ve added a new section to the Alameda History website that provides a focus on the builders. Look up above and to the right and you’ll see the word “The Builders.” From there you can click into a sub-page that provides links off into biographies I’m writing about the men [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2009, 5:39pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Freedom From the Cares of The Day

    Number of comments: 4
    It was 100 years ago this week that the first newspaper advertisements began to run extolling the virtues of the newly platted Alameda Park district. The text is pretty flowery and the ad is jammed with words. Here, take a look: This ad tells us much more about the men behind [...]
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    Posted: March 05, 2009, 11:50pm EST
    by Doug

  • Style Points | The Four Square

    Number of comments: 3
    It’s all in the name: four square. Four sides of equal dimension, and each side equal in height and in width. In essence, that’s the four square house, though a variation on the style added a bit more space by making the front-to-back walls longer. These practical, attractive, stately beauties can [...]
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    Posted: February 21, 2009, 11:21am EST
    by Doug

  • Prescott Fountain–Hunderips

    Number of comments: 4
    I’ve embarked on a line of research that involves trying to understand the businesses that have served Alamedans over the years, with a focus on the smaller shops that existed around the perimeter of the neighborhood. Here’s one that will bring back some memories for those who knew it, and [...]
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    Posted: January 16, 2009, 8:45pm EST
    by Doug

  • The First Alameda School

    Number of comments: 4
    When most Alamedans think about our lovely old Alameda Elementary School, we are probably thinking about the beautiful and classic building that stands today on NE Fremont between 27th and 29th. Built in 1921, this school has been the neighborhood hearth for generations. But did you know there was an even [...]
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    Posted: January 09, 2009, 5:19pm EST
    by Doug

  • The Scent of Memory

    I’ve just finished a history study on a two-story 1912 Craftsman in Beaumont, located on NE 41st Avenue. The story of the house is fascinating: four owners and one default in the first three years, with the title flowing from the original builder, to another contractor to a developer and [...]
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    Posted: January 07, 2009, 9:26pm EST
    by Doug

  • A History of Snow

    Winter 1936 Winter 2008 There’s a great Billy Collins poem called “A History of Weather” that I’ve been thinking about all week. We’ve had a lot of snow here in Portland, not record-breaking, but still more than anyone has seen around these parts for 40 years. Right now we have about 15 [...]
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    Posted: December 23, 2008, 8:08pm EST
    by Doug

  • History Walk | A Spin Around the Farm

    Here’s another history walk–a short one this time at .6 of a mile–that will take you around the perimeter of the Pearson Farm, one of the earliest settlements in this area, dating to 1875. The starting point for this one is easy: the Pearson Pine at NE 29th and Fremont. Go [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2008, 3:35pm EST
    by Doug

  • 20,000 Visits

    Number of comments: 1
    20,000 visits. I’m pleased and a little amazed to note that the Alameda Old House History Blog has just made it to 20,000 visits. I’ve been running the blog for about a year now and have enjoyed the comments and the conversation this forum has produced. It’s also nice to have [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2008, 9:58pm EST
    by Doug

  • History Walk | Broadway Streetcar Loop

    Number of comments: 1
    Broadway Streetcar Walk-A 3.1 mile loop Here’s an Alameda neighborhood walk that puts you on the pathway of the past: a history-hunt of sorts to see the clues and imagine a time when the Alameda Park Addition was young and connected to downtown courtesy of a clanky, drafty, dependable streetcar. Broadway Streetcar, looking [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2008, 11:08pm EST
    by Doug

  • Remember Manitou?

    It’s OK if you’ve not heard of the Manitou Addition, a small chunk of neighborhood that once had its own identity, now lost to time. In my research on Alameda-Beaumont-Wilshire, I’ve kept running into references to Manitou-this and Manitou-that and wondered where it was. While reviewing plat maps recently, I [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2008, 11:04pm EST
    by Doug

  • History Walk | Alameda Park Perimeter

    Number of comments: 2
    These fall evenings are great for a brisk walk. Leaves everywhere, woodsmoke in the air, raindrops. And local history ripe for the imagination. I headed out tonight for a walk around the perimeter of the original Alameda Park subdivision. It makes for a good exercise walk, particulary if you do it [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2008, 11:49pm EST
    by Doug

  • Beaumont, not to be outdone

    Not to be outdone by Alameda Park or Olmsted Park or any of the dozen-plus subdivisions beginning to spring up about this time, the Columbia Trust Company commissioned their own artwork (and copywriter) to sing the praises of their development. Take a look: If you squint just right at their ad, [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2008, 11:50am EST
    by Doug

  • The Tuxedo of Portland | Looking Back 99 Years

    As the Alameda Neighborhood approaches its 100th anniversary, I thought it might be of interest to turn the clock back for a sense of what people were thinking about this part of the city in those days. I’ve done a comprehensive review of The Oregonian from 1909 to 1929 and [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2008, 9:58am EST
    by Doug

  • Style Points | The Colonials

    Rooted in American history and tradition, the Colonial Revival style and its popular angled-roof cousin, the Dutch Colonial Revival, were some of the Alameda neighborhood’s earliest and sturdiest looking homes. The style takes it primary influence from New England homes of the 1700s and 1800s and is intended to call [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2008, 10:57pm EDT
    by Doug

  • [nt]

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    Fetched: September 07, 2008, 11:29pm EDT

  • Grant Park Grocery & Market

    Number of comments: 2
    Grant Park Grocery and Market, NE 33rd and Knott, about 1933. Photo courtesy of Jerry Hoffelner. The man in the first row, second from the right with the blue “x” penned onto his apron, is Jerry’s dad, George Hoffelner. The other men have yet to be identified. Can you help? I’m [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2008, 12:40pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Stories of Success by Homebuilders

    Number of comments: 1
    I’ve been going through early issues of The Oregonian in search of stories and photos about homes and neighborhoods. It’s been a fascinating journey marked with some real jackpots of information about Alameda, Olmsted Park and Beaumont. Photos, catchy advertisements, stories about who was building what, and where. The Portland [...]
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    Posted: May 24, 2008, 12:35pm EDT
    by Doug

  • Memory Map

    Number of comments: 3
    I’ve been in touch with Dick Taylor, who grew up in Alameda during the 1930s. He’s one of the men whose brain I’ve been picking for details on the “old man” who I’ve heard stories about. Dick grew up on Shaver between NE 34th and NE 35th. A few weeks back [...]
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    Posted: April 20, 2008, 9:22am EDT
    by Doug

  • Of Purple Boxes

    A great observation about old houses and their sometimes brash new neighbors. This column appeared in The Sunday Oregonian on March 16, 2008.   One thoughtful reader, responding to Emma’s column, writes: Don’t you wonder what story the purple box is telling us? If the older homes were about family, and a love [...]
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    Posted: March 16, 2008, 10:02am EDT
    by Doug

  • Memory Fragments | An old man and his dog

    In the last week, I’ve spoken with three men — three Alameda boys — who grew up in the neighborhood in the 1930s and 1940s. None of them live here any longer, though fragments of memories from their growing up years are crystal clear. We’ve been concentrating on overlapping memories about a single person and [...]
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    Posted: March 01, 2008, 5:17pm EST
    by Doug

  • What You Can Do | Alameda Oral Histories

    A recent visitor to this blog asked if there was anything he could do to help with capturing the history of the Alameda neighborhood. Absolutely. Bruce Morrison, the little boy who grew up in my house, remembered the day his younger sister Jean and brother Robert took a ride on the [...]
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    Posted: February 29, 2008, 8:42am EST
    by Doug

  • Alameda Park Community Church | A History

    Number of comments: 5
    Funny how decisions are made sometimes, and how unpredictable forces shape the way things turn out. For 80 years, Alamedans have known the Alameda Park Community Church building– today’s Subud Center — as a friendly-looking building on an island just off Regents Drive at Mason. Passersby inclined to wonder about its history perhaps think it was a [...]
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    Posted: February 12, 2008, 11:58am EST
    by Doug

  • Alameda Library? Unlikely.

    Number of comments: 3
    If you live in Alameda above the ridge, you’ve walked, ridden or driven past this very nice home many times. It’s on the wide sweep of Regents Drive, just north of the intersection with The Alameda, on the east side of the street.   3032 NE Regents Drive, Portland, Oregon. Built 1923 by [...]
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    Posted: January 13, 2008, 9:47am EST
    by Doug

  • Style Points | The Bungalow

    Jean and Robert Morrison in front of their Alameda Arts and Crafts Bungalow, about 1925. Note the front porch with squared columns, wide bank of casement windows, overhanging eaves and low profile, all hallmarks of the bungalow style. Photo courtesy of the Morrison-Munson family. The Bungalow If you’re passing through a residential area [...]
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    Posted: January 09, 2008, 9:31pm EST
    by Doug

  • Olmstead Park

    Number of comments: 2
    Here’s the cadastral map from 1909 showing the Olmstead Park plat. This roughly five-block square area is north of the Alameda Ridge and tucks in under the southeast corner of Alameda Park. Today this part of the neighborhood is clearly considered part of the Alameda District. Out on the ground even in 1911, these [...]
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    Posted: December 26, 2007, 2:47pm EST
    by Doug
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